President Richard Nixon calls on a reporter during a press conference in the midst of the Watergate scandal, which forces his resignation in 1973.

The Development of Modern America 1865‑1929

This
section,
covering the period between the late 19th century and the early 20th
century, saw forces that transformed the United States. These forces
are generally seen as part of “modernization," a process that involved
the progressive transformation of the economic, political and social
structures of the United States.

•
Causes and consequences of railroad construction; industrial growth and
economic modernization; the development of international trade•
Causes and consequences of immigration and internal migration,
including the impact upon, and experience of, indigenous peoples•
Development and impact of ideological currents including Progressivism,
Manifest Destiny, liberalism, nationalism, Social Darwinism, and
nativism• Social and cultural changes: the arts; the role of women•
Influence of leaders in the transition to the modern era: political and
economic aims; assessment of the successes and failures of Theodore
Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson•
Social, economic and legal conditions of African Americans between 1865
and 1929; the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance; the search
for civil rights and the ideas, aims and tactics of Booker T
Washington, WEB Dubois and Marcus Garvey

Emergence of America in global affairs 1880‑1929

This
section focuses on modernization in the United States, and its impact
on foreign policy. It explores the involvement of the United States in
the First World War. Modernization shaped America and its effects
created the basis for a major shift its foreign policy. By the end of
the century, for example, the United States played a more active role
in world affairs, and in the affairs of Latin America in particular, thus
transforming inter-American relations. When the First World War broke
out in Europe, the U.S. eventually became involved in the conflict.
When the war ended, its impact was felt in the economic, social and
foreign policies of the United States.

• United States’ expansionist foreign policies: political, economic, social and ideological reasons• Spanish–American War: causes and effects (1898)• United States’ foreign policies: the Big Stick; Dollar Diplomacy; Moral Diplomacy; applications and impact on the region•
United States and the First World War: from neutrality to involvement;
reasons for US entry into the First World War; Wilson’s peace ideals
and the struggle for ratification of the Versailles Treaty in theUnited States; significance of the war for the United States’ hemispheric status• Impact of the First World War on America: economic, political, social, and foreign policies

The Great Depression and America 1929‑39

This
section focuses on the nature of the Depression as well as the
different solutions adopted by the United States and the impact on
society. The Great Depression produced the mostserious economic
collapse in the history of America. It brought about the need to
rethink economic and political systems. The alternatives that were
offered and the adaptations that took place marked a watershed in
political and economic development in the United States.

• The Great Depression: political and economic causes in America• Nature and efficacy of solutions in the United States: Hoover; Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal; critics of the New Deal• Impact of the Great Depression on society: African Americans, women, minorities• The Great Depression and the arts: photography, the movie industry, the radio, literary currents

The Second World War and America 1933‑45

As the world order
deteriorated in the late 1930s, resulting in the outbreak of war in
Europe, the United States took a cautious, isolationist approach to the
challenges presented. This section focuses on the changing policies of
the United States as a result of growing political and diplomatic
tensions preceding and during the Second World War. It also examines
the impact of the war upon the United States.

• Hemispheric reactions to the events in Europe: inter-American
diplomacy; cooperation and neutrality; Franklin D Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy, its application and effects• The diplomatic and/or military role of the United States in the Second World War• Social impact of the Second World War on: African Americans, Native Americans, women and minorities; conscription• Treatment of Japanese Americans• Reaction to the Holocaust in America• Impact of technological developments and the beginning of the atomic age• Economic and diplomatic effects of the Second World War

Political developments in America after the Second World War 1945‑79

This
section focuses on domestic concerns and political developments after
1945. The United States experienced social, economic and political
changes and challenges. Areas of study include: conditions for the rise
to power of new leaders; economic and social policies.

Domestic Post-WWII Trends

Domestic policies of U.S. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and the "Great Society," and Nixon.

Truman

Eisenhower

The Cold War and America 1945‑1981

This section focuses on the
development and impact of the Cold War in the United States and abroad.
Most of the second half of the 20th century was dominated by the global
conflict of the Cold War. The Cold War had a significant impact on the
domestic and foreign policies of the United States.

• Truman: containment and its implications for the Americas; the
rise of McCarthyism and its effects on domestic and foreign policies of
the United States; the Cold War and its impact on society and culture•
Korean War and the United States and the Americas: reasons for
participation; military developments; diplomatic and political outcomes•
Eisenhower and Dulles: New Look and its application; characteristics
and reasons for the policy; repercussions for the United States•
United States’ involvement in Vietnam: the reasons for, and nature of,
the involvement at different stages; domestic effects and the end of
the war• United States’ foreign policies from Kennedy to Carter:
the characteristics of, and reasons for, policies; implications for the
region: Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress; Nixon’s covert operations and
Chile; Carter’s quest for human rights and the Panama Canal Treaty

Civil Rights and Social Movements in America

This section
focuses on the origins, nature, challenges and achievements of civil
rights movements after 1945. Movements represented the attempts to
achieve equality for groups that were not recognized or accepted as
full members of society. The groups challenged established authority
and entrenched attitudes.

• Native Americans and civil rights• African Americans and the
Civil Rights Movement: origins, tactics and organizations; the US
Supreme court and legal challenges to segregation in education; ending
of the segregation in the South (1955‑65)• Role of Dr Martin
Luther King in the Civil Rights Movement; the rise of radical African
American activism (1965‑8): Black Panthers; Black Muslims; Black Power
and Malcolm X• Role of governments in civil rights movements in the United States• Youth culture and protests of the 1960s and 1970s: characteristics and manifestation of a counterculture• Feminist movements in the Americas

Into the 21st Century—from the 1980s to 9/11

This
section focuses on changing trends in foreign and domestic policies in
the United States during the transition to the 21st century. The latter
decades of the 20th century also witnessed significant political, social, cultural, economic and technological changes.

• The United States, from bipolar to unilateral power: domestic and
foreign policies of presidents such as Reagan, Bush (41), Clinton, Bush (43);
challenges; effects on the United States; impact upon the hemisphere• Globalization and its effects: social, political and economic• Revolution in technology: social, political and economic impact such as the role of the media and the Internet• Popular culture: new manifestations and trends in literature, films, music and entertainment• New concerns: threats to the environment; health